This week we had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Christina Achiaga aka @manluc_illustrations as our Artist spotlight of the week.
Hello! Please can you give us a brief little introduction about yourself?
Hi! I am Cristina and MANLUC Illustrations is the brand I created for my work.
I come from Spain but I live in Switzerland since a few years already with my husband and my two kids.
When I was a child I was always drawing but when I was 20 years old I stopped and didn’t touch a pencil for many years. During that time I studied Visual Communication and Journalism and started to work on Corporate Communications. Then my husband and I travelled for a few months around Asia and Australia and the desire to draw came back to me. And so I decided that it was time to leave everything and to dedicate myself to my real passions: writing and, of course, drawing. There is only one life and we have to try to do what we love, right?
What inspires you?
I´m inspired by the things and the people that surround me: my kids and their magical imagination, the people I see in the street, scenes of daily life…
What is your favourite thing to draw?
I would say to create characters and place them different and funny situations. Nowadays I try to pay more attention to the expressions and movements and I am working on improving myself in these areas.
What art goals do you have for this year?
So many! I would love to end the year with a nice portfolio, to redesign my website and give it a new look, finish the two books I am working on and, of course, to improve my drawing skills (specially animals)...
As you can see I am a person with many goals and it is true that sometimes I don’t have enough time to accomplish them but hey! let´s cross fingers and hopefully I am done by 2022!
What techniques/supplies do you use?
I usually go for digital (Procreate) as it is a fastest way to work. I love the incredible options that it gives you and you can draw anywhere!
I really enjoy working with watercolour and colour pencils, but lately I don’t have much time to do so… new goal for this year: to take some time for this!
What advice would you give to another doodler/artist?
Just try to do always what you love. Simple as that.
Where can people go to learn more about you or see more of your work? (social media/website links)
Right now you can find most of my work in my IG account, which is linked to my Facebook page (@manlucillustrations). I also have a website (www.manlucillustrations.com) and an Etsy shop (www.etsy.com/shop/
